“……”

A suffocating tension, like the calm before a storm, flowed across the silent deck. At that moment, something huge surged up from the river, shattering the tension. As a massive pillar of water sprayed onto the deck, the quiet ship instantly turned into chaos.

“Monsters! Get them!”

At Kabillon’s shout, the Holy Knights all at once charged at the monsters that were raiding the deck. Seiden also handed Bellota over to Felton and dashed at an astonishing speed towards the enormous monster that had created the water pillar.

The giant, serpentine monster, which had climbed onto the bow of the ship, seemingly determined to sink the large vessel, was cut down by Seiden’s sword and collapsed.

“It’s a Miracle.”

Felton, standing in front of Bellota, protecting her, muttered in a breathless voice.

Bellota also knew the identity of the wet monster lying at Seiden’s feet. It was the largest and most dangerous of the aquatic monsters that lived in the river that never froze. It was also one of the monsters that the Imperial Family had demanded they capture at all costs during this subjugation.

With a mixture of bewilderment and confusion in her eyes, Bellota watched Seiden cleanly cut down the other monsters as well. The ship’s teleportation to the Serita Gorge must have been part of his plan. It was clear that the man had a plan. Whatever it was……

No matter how ferocious the monsters of the North were, they were no match for the Holy Knights, who were toughened from rolling around in the mud. The momentary chaos was soon settled.

“We’ve taken care of them all.”

Kabillon came and reported the fact, and Seiden, nodding silently, looked back at them.

“We’ll be moving to the next destination.”

At his words, astonishment once again appeared on the faces of those who had barely calmed down. Felton, too, frowned in bewilderment.

The next destination? This was the Serita Gorge. The place where the anonymous informant had reported the source of dark magic to be located.

“We’ll be departing soon, so be prepared.”

After finishing his short, firm orders, Seiden approached Bellota again.

“Commander.”

Unable to stay silent any longer, Felton finally voiced the conversation he had overheard, but Seiden covered Felton’s mouth.

“I will explain everything when this is all over. For now, please, just do as I say.”

His face made it seem like he already knew what Felton was about to say. Could he possibly know that I eavesdropped on them? While Dorian was flustered and Felton was at a loss for words, Seiden offered the medicine bottle to Bellota again. It was the motion sickness medicine that she couldn’t drink earlier because the ship was shaking.

“It would be best to take it.”

Bellota understood the meaning hidden within those grave words. This arduous voyage wouldn’t be over quickly, and the teleportation that shook her insides would repeat several more times.

When Bellota looked at Seiden with an appalled expression, he took her hand and placed the medicine bottle in it.

* * *

His prediction was exactly right. In the two days that followed, they had to carry out a total of three more teleportations. Each time their ship stopped, it would be in a place teeming with ferocious monsters overflowing with dark magic, and the holy knights and priests quickly adapted to this strange reconnaissance and eliminated them all. As time passed, the ship’s hold began to fill with magic stones imbued with the monsters that the imperial family required.

From the Serita Gorge to the Paru River where the Pars Waterfall flowed, through the Black Loev region where the river ran black, and finally to Lake Kiefer, which was as vast as the sea. Having conquered all the most dangerous parts of the Rubble Mountains in just two days, the reconnaissance team had only one place left.

“Is the next stop Kyle Canyon?”

A calm voice asked, and Seiden, who was standing alone at the bow, looking out over the black water, turned around. It was Bellota who had addressed him, having come up on deck instead of sleeping.

Due to the two major battles they had fought today alone, everyone except for the minimum number of people standing guard had collapsed from exhaustion. Even those guards were stationed below, so the two of them were the only ones on the bow.

Thanks to the barrier he had erected, there was no chance of the ship being attacked by monsters until morning, but Bellota still couldn’t sleep due to her anxiety. It wasn’t the snowy mountains of the north or the monsters that inhabited them that were making her uneasy. It was the man in front of her, whose thoughts she couldn’t even begin to guess.

“That is correct.”

When Seiden replied curtly, Bellota’s expression grew even more complicated.

“Then the source of the dark magic is in Kyle Canyon.”

As if confirming her words, Seiden simply looked back out at the water without a word.

For some reason, Bellota felt deflated. If the source was in Kyle Canyon, she couldn’t understand what the point of all the suffering they had endured so far was. While it was true that subduing a certain number of monsters was also part of the reconnaissance team’s mission, that could have been accomplished in one place. It was something that could have been done without wandering all over the mountains like this.

No, she couldn’t even begin to guess how he had figured out that the source of the dark magic was in Kyle Canyon in the first place. A place that even the imperial family had spent years searching for.

“I don’t understand what you’re thinking.”

When Bellota honestly confessed her thoughts, Seiden swallowed a faint smile and murmured.

“You’ll find out soon enough. We’re almost there.”

A deep, strange light flickered in his red eyes as he stared out at the black water.

Almost there, he said. Bellota knew that it didn’t just mean the reconnaissance of the north. What was Seiden planning?

“You should go inside. The wind is cold.”

Seiden, who had finally finished observing the surface of the water, approached Bellota, who was now standing next to him, and draped his coat over her shoulders. He had intended to send her below quickly, but Bellota caught his arm.

“When we return,”

Bellota quietly began, and Seiden’s hand froze in place. A cold and strange tension flowed between the two of them.

Bellota hesitated for a moment before continuing resolutely.

“Clear up the rumors.”

At her words, Seiden’s brow slowly furrowed. Despite clearly noticing his subtle change in expression, Bellota didn’t back down.

“It’s true.”

Her expression showed that she had made up her mind.

“If you don’t, next time, I’ll send you to the Forbidden Land instead of the snowy mountains.”

Bellota’s calm voice sank with a note of despair.

Bellota knew why the Emperor had specifically sent Seiden here. It was because he had rejected the Imperial Princess’s proposal. The rumor that Seiden, who had done so, was in love with her, a Saintess, had further displeased the Emperor, who was already irritated. If this continued, the relationship between the Imperial Family and the Grand Temple would not improve. Bellota was afraid that Geril, who had not yet lost his power, would use this opportunity to drag Seiden down.

Seiden stared at her pale face for a moment before opening his mouth.

“That’s a relief. I was thinking of heading to the Forbidden Land this time anyway.”

At Seiden’s stiff joke, Bellota frowned and looked at him. Her gaze was filled with reproach for his absurd humor.

Seiden leisurely observed her and uttered a teasing remark.

“Since you don’t seem to follow my wishes at all, Saintess, I suppose I shall do the same.”

At his infuriating words, an exasperated sigh escaped Bellota’s lips.

Seiden was scolding her for following him all the way to the north. His words made her feel like a disobedient child. But it was only natural for her to accompany him here.

“Don’t you think that’s a bit rich coming from someone who went through the trouble of getting me a necklace with a tracking spell on it?”

Bellota’s voice rose with uncharacteristic agitation. Hadn’t Seiden also felt this anxiety?

“You’re not the only one who feels uneasy when I’m not around. I also feel uneasy and miss you when you’re away from me……!”

Overwhelmed by a sudden wave of frustration and heartache, Bellota blurted out hasty words, only to widen her eyes in surprise after revealing her true feelings. Realizing that she had said something she shouldn’t have, Bellota immediately stopped talking, but it was already too late. Seiden’s gaze, which had been slowly observing her, hardened in an instant.

As he stared at her with an expression that seemed to question his own ears, Bellota’s face flushed bright red. The icy air that had hung between them had transformed into a stifling heat.

“What I mean is……”